


teacher days, youtube ways

by carefulren



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Hurt/Comfort, Illnesses, M/M, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Sick Lance (Voltron), Sickfic, Teacher AU, Tumblr Prompt, YouTube, ah keith and lance are married in this, basically Lance is a hot shot youtuber and Keith is a high school teacher, youtuber lance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-15
Updated: 2018-01-19
Packaged: 2019-03-05 02:49:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13378521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carefulren/pseuds/carefulren
Summary: Keith's married to popular YouTuber Lance, and he thinks that none of his students know, that is until three girls bring up that Lance looks very sick in a recent upload.





	1. Chapter 1

Classes drag, even for a teacher. It’s not that Keith doesn’t like teaching, but with Christmas only a few weeks away, he’s just as anxious to have a couple of weeks off as his students are. He knows that he doesn’t necessarily need to teach, not with Lance’s YouTube channel kicking off as quickly as it is, but he didn’t bust his ass at college for nothing. So, he’s going to teach; he’s going to contribute toward his family with Lance. 

He walks into his third period class only seconds before the bell. His students are already in their seats, glued to their phones as they have been since the semester started, but he ignores this for now in favor of setting his backpack down across his desk. 

He’s never been a fan of briefcases. They make him feel old, strict, and he’s got a reputation for being a favorite among students. He’s second behind Shiro because, as it would seem, no one can compete with Shiro. But, Keith’s always been competitive in nature, so he’s going to keep trying to win all of the students over. And, that’s why he allows them extra time on their phones before he actually starts class. 

He drops into his chair and kicks his feet up on his desk as he pulls his own phone out. YouTube notifications light up across his screen, and he sees that Lance has posted a video a couple of hours ago. That would be the first out of three, Keith thinks as he swipes out of the notifications in favor of shooting the brunet a text. 

_[To: Lance] Someone’s started his day early._

He gives it two minutes before he locks his phone with a sigh. Not only did Lance not reply, but the brunet didn’t even read the text. Keith’s not too surprised considering Lance is probably recording a video to be edited and posted within the next two hours, but a text would have been nice. 

“Okay, class,” Keith says, his signature warning for the students to put their phones away and pay attention. “Your texts and tweets can wait until after class.” 

Most students oblige, but a few girls that occupy the back corner of the room continue typing on their phones as if his words went in one ear and out the other. Keith knows these three well; they are always keeping him on his toes. 

“Claire, Jessica, and Jody. Phones up.” He keeps his tone light, casual, yet it still holds enough color of authority that has all three girls looking up at him. 

“Just a moment, sir. We are tweeting Lance.” 

Keith leans forward with a sigh and drops his chin into his palm while the fingers of his free hand drum against his desk. Did he mention that Lance has a steady fan-base among more than half of the high school he teaches at? 

It’s not a huge deal, except that Keith has been married to Lance for four years now. His students don’t know; how could he tell them? They would never leave him alone. 

“It can wait until after class,” Keith presses, and Jody, the quiet one of the three, looks up at him with wide, worried eyes. Her expression has Keith straightening in his chair, and he quirks his head to the side, prompting the young girl to speak on the apparent concern pulling at her face. 

“Sorry, sir. It’s just… Well… We watched his newest video earlier, and he really didn’t look well. And, now he’s worryingly silent on all of his social media sites.” 

Keith blinks slowly at this. Worry tugs at his heart and shoots hot across his veins. A pit of concern builds in his stomach, but he manages to keep his face composed; it’s a talent of his, really. The mature thing to do would be to step out and call Lance, but before he can take action on this, Claire is walking toward his desk with her phone in hand. 

“Look,” she says, and before Keith can ask her to take her seat, she’s sliding her phone across his desk with Lance’s video pulled up. A frown is already pulling at his lips at the sight of Lance’s too pale complexion only colored with a deep flush across his cheeks, and this is paired with glassy, dull eyes that all but scream fever. 

Lance has a blanket wrapped around his shoulders, and the smile on his lips is forced, tired, and when he opens his mouth to talk, he suddenly turns away from the camera to cough harshly, over and over. 

Keith is thoroughly confused because Lance had been feeling a little more tired than usual last night, but that was it. The brunet had said nothing about feeling ill. 

He pauses the video and drags and sharp gaze toward Claire. “He’s like this the entire video?” 

“Yes, sir. If anything, he gets worse as the video goes on.” 

Nodding, Keith thinks back to the unread text he sent Lance, and he’s on his feet and grabbing his phone and backpack before his mind catches up to what he’s doing. He’s at the door before he remembers there are twenty-five students witnessing his abrupt actions. 

“Something came up,” he tells his class. “I’ll get Shiro to deal with you guys.” 

“Take care of him,” Claire calls out, and Keith shoots the blonde a wide-eyed look that’s paired with a slacked jaw. The blonde winks at him, and Keith pushes the realization that his class knows about him and Lance to the far back of his mind as he storms out of the room and down the hall toward Shiro’s classroom. 

Knocking is out of the question; it’s too time consuming. He throws the door open, and Shiro’s class falls silent.

“Keith?” 

“I need you to do something with my class. I have to go.” 

Shiro must sense the urgency in Keith’s tone because he tells his class to keep working before he ushers Keith back into the hall. 

“Of course, but what’s wrong? Is everything okay?” 

“It’s Lance,” Keith replies, raking a shaking hand through his hair. “He’s sick; I need to-” 

“Go,” Shiro says, cutting Keith off. “Just be careful driving back.” 

Keith shoots Shiro a nod with eyes that bleed gratitude before he spins on his heel and books it down the hall. 

*****

Keith’s taking the steps up toward his and Lance’s apartment two at a time. His heart is threatening to leap from his throat as fear grips an icy grip at his veins. He had tried to call Lance four times on the short drive home, but he came up with Lance’s voicemail every time. 

Keith has no idea if Lance is alive or dead as he whips down a hallway, skidding to a stop in front of his apartment door. He fumbles with the keys twice before he can finally get a trembling hand to cooperate. The second he hears the lock click, he throws the door open as if his life depends on it. And, well, in this case, it does since Lance is his life. 

“Lance!” Keith shouts, tossing his backpack to the floor as he scans the apartment. “Lance!” He tries again, voice breathless and panicked as he moves from the living room to the kitchen at rapid speed. He still doesn’t spot Lance, so he turns toward the bedroom, a third scream of Lance’s name hot on his lips as he throws the door open. 

The shout falls against quiet lips as he spots Lance sitting up in bed, hair disheveled and eyes drooping. 

“…Keith?” Lance rasps out, turning to cough harshly into his fist. 

For a moment, Keith can only stand and stare at his husband, who is very much alive, as the gears in his head slowly shift and turn until they click into place. “Lance,” he breathes out, crossing the distance between the two at a record speed. He drops onto the edge of the bed and pulls Lance tightly to his chest, squeezing the brunet hard as if the two had been separated for years. 

“Keith, what’s wrong?” Lance mutters into Keith’s shoulder, and Keith pushes Lance back but keeps both hands to Lance’s shoulders. 

“Jesus. I thought… I wasn’t sure.. You didn’t answer my calls. You looked so sick in the video.” 

“What?” Lance asks around a few coughs. 

Keith sucks in a measured breath as he curls his fingers in tighter around Lance’s shoulders. “Some girls in my class are your fans. They showed me the video you posted earlier, and you looked terrible. Then they told me you went silent on social media, and you hadn’t answered my text or any of my calls, and I thought.. I thought something bad happened.” 

Soft sympathy washes over Lance’s face. “Oh, babe. I’m  _sorry_. I decided to take a nap after I posted the first video; I think I got what Hunk had last week.” He pauses to cough. “I must have slept like the dead because I didn’t even hear my phone ring.” 

Keith nods, moving one hand to cup Lance’s cheek and frowning at the worrying heat. “Did Hunk have a fever this bad?” He asks as he slides his hand up to Lance’s forehead. 

Lance shrugs and turns away to cough into his fist once more. “I can’t remember, but I’m okay, really. You can go back to work; I’ll be fine.” 

Keith shakes his head the second the words leave Lance’s mouth. The thought of going back to face his students who know that he and Lance are together is unsettling, but leaving Lance while the brunet is this sick is even worse. 

“Not a chance,” Keith says as he gets to his feet and pushes Lance gently back against the pillows. “I’m staying to take care of you.” 

“I won’t object to that,” Lance mutters, eyes struggling to stay open. 

Keith leans down to tuck the blankets around Lance’s slightly trembling frame before he moves in to brush a gentle kiss to Lance’s overheated forehead. “Rest, Lance.” 

Lance nods, eyes fluttering closed. “I love you,” he rasps out, and Keith breathes out a quiet breath. 

“I love you, too.” 


	2. the one where Lance shows up to Keith's work while sick and freaking out...

“You’re a little warm.” 

Despite Keith’s palm feeling slightly relieving upon his forehead and despite feeling more tired than usual, Lance frowns and weakly swats Keith’s hand from his forehead. “I’m fine.”

Keith’s eyes narrow in a way that could lead to an argument if Lance isn’t careful. 

“Did you not just hear what I said?” 

“I did,” Lance says against a sigh. “But, I’m fine, Keith. I feel fine.” His gaze is quick to soften at the glimmer of concern coating Keith’s dark eyes. “Keith-”

“For once,” Keith starts, raking a hand through his hair. “For once, can you just rest? I know you want to upload and please your fans, but you don’t know your own limits. I’d feel much better knowing you were resting and not pushing that small fever into something worse.” 

In just seconds, an uncomfortable wave of stress has washed over Keith, shown clearly by the prominent frown etched across his lips paired with furrowed brows. It’s enough to have Lance caving with a deep sigh and slumping shoulders. He’s not a fan of skipping uploads, but he can just send out a tweet; he’ll do whatever he needs to relieve the stress and worry from his husband.

“Okay,” he says, voice small for defeat tastes sour along his tongue. “I’ll rest.” 

Keith’s lips meet Lance’s forehead, and Lance can’t help the small smile that tugs on his lips. 

“Thank you,” Keith breathes out, warm breath ghosting across Lance’s forehead. 

“Go teach the hooligans,” Lance says back, placing one hand to Keith’s chest to push the latter away. “You’ll be late.” 

Nodding, Keith steps away to shoulder his backpack. “Call me if you need anything.” 

“Will do.” 

*****

Lance’s phone ringing pulls him from sleep with a quick jerk and a loud gasp. He’s drenched in sweat, shirt uncomfortably plastered to his skin and sheets underneath him damp and sticky. He feels heavy, hazy, like he’s a massive weight sinking underwater. Reaching for his phone is a challenge, but he manages to snag it, not even looking at who’s calling as he presses the phone to his ear. 

“Hey,” he rasps out in greeting, frowning at the croak that had been his voice only hours earlier. 

_“Lance, es tu madre. Tengo una pregunta de seguro rápida. Tu padre y yo nos metimos en un pequeño accidente, y … ”_

Accidente? 

Lance blinks slowly as his phone slips from his hand and clatters to the floor, his mother’s voice growing faint. 

Accident?

He stumbles out of his bed, kicking his phone across the floor as he staggers toward his shoes. His heart is hammering hard against his chest, breaths becoming lost against the rapid thumping, and each step feels as if he’s walking across a rope bridge covered in mud. 

He manages to slip two shoes on before he’s turning back to look for his phone. His movements feel slow, unearthly, almost as if he’s watching himself walk and not actually walking. He drops to the floor and pats around until his hand finds his phone, and he presses it to his ear, interrupting his mother with quick, wheezy words. 

“Mamá, espera. Tengo que llamar a un Uber. Tengo que ir a Keith.” 

He ends the call and dials an Uber with shaking fingers. Keith can help, he thinks. He just has to get to Keith. 

*****

By the time the Uber arrives at the school, Lance can’t properly breathe. He feels on the verge of a panic attack, like he’s teetering the edge with unsteady balance. His heart is slamming against his chest and drumming loudly in his ears. There’s a suffocating heat clinging to his skin and bleeding further down to burn his bones, and his throat is dry and tight, feeling almost as if it’s shrinking away to nothing. 

He knows he’s crying, if the looks his Uber driver has been giving him are anything to go by, but he can’t feel the tears; they seem to steam off his heated face, or, at least, he thinks. He’s not sure. He’s not sure of anything other than that his mother and father have been in an accident, and he needs Keith. 

He stumbles out of the car, tossing his wallet to the driver before staggering up the school steps with choppy, gasping breaths. He ignores the front office, opting instead to move along with his trembling legs straight toward Keith’s classroom. 

It’s a struggle; he has to keep one hand braced against the lockers as darkness dots his vision, but he makes it to Keith’s classroom and slams the door open with a wheezing inhale. 

He’s not aware of the gasps coming from the students; he’s only aware of Keith racing toward him, and his body holds out just long enough before falling forward into Keith’s arms. 

“Lance!”

Lance keeps both hands wrapped tightly around Keith’s arms as he struggles to remain standing. “My parents,” he chokes out against a sob that’s slipped past the knot in his throat. “An accident.” 

With each word, he’s fading, as the slow realization that his parents truly were in an accident takes center hold in his racing heart. Darkness creeps at the edges of his vision, and all sounds become muffled. He thinks that, maybe, he hears Keith say something about “burning,” and now there’s yelling. Lance can make out the names Claire and Shiro, but after that? 

Nothing. 

He’s falling, and his vision goes black. 

*****

Lance comes to with an uncomfortable pressure in his arm paired with a faint, yet persistent, beeping sound. His entire body hurts, every single inch of it, but at least he can breathe. Opening his eyes is hard; his eyelids feel like sticky weights, but he manages enough to see Keith breathing out a deep sigh as their gazes lock onto one another. 

“You’re awake.” Keith says, voice cracking slightly as he leans forward to cup one of Lance’s hands in own. 

Lance’s brain is a puzzle desperately waiting to be pieced together. He frowns and motions weakly to the hospital room with his free hand. “What happened?” 

“More like what didn’t happen,” Keith mutters, hands tightening around Lance’s. “You came stumbling into my classroom positively scorching with an insane fever and tell me your parents got into an accident,” Keith pauses as Lance’s eyes go wide. “They’re fine, by the way. Which, you would have known had you listened to everything your mom said on the phone.” 

“They’re fine?” Lance’s voice is weak, quiet, and Keith nods. 

“Small fender bender. They were just a little confused on some insurance stuff.” 

The remaining pressure against Lance’s chest lifts with Keith’s words, and he slumps into his pillow with a deep sigh. “How did I get here, though?” He asks, and Keith breathes out a small, heated laugh that carries no heart with it. 

“I’m not finished,” Keith starts. “So, you pass out in front of my entire class. I have to tell my student Claire, who is one of your biggest fans I might add, to get Shiro, and he comes in and says we need to get you to a hospital immediately.” 

Keith stops and takes in a large breath before he continues. “Luckily, your Uber driver just so happened to be standing in the hallway with your wallet, that you gave to him, so Shiro carried you out to Uber while I did quick damage control on my class, telling them that yes we are married, not that that matters because they all knew apparently, and telling them no they may not post the videos of you fainting online.” 

Lance isn’t sure what the proper reply is, but as it turns out, there’s still more. 

“So, I follow the Uber in my car, and when I get here, the Uber driver is kind of freaking out. I have to tell him that the reason you were sobbing and wearing two different shoes is because you’re very sick, 105.2 degree fever I might add. And now, here we are. You’ve been out for a few hours, but your fever’s gone down, and you’ll be released in another hour or so.” 

Keith’s face is unreadable. Lance keeps two narrow eyes locked onto it, but he can’t find a crack in the harsh seams. He’s not sure how to approach a response, not with Keith so tense beside him, but Keith, ever-so observant, interrupts his flow of thoughts. 

“Don’t apologize. I know you want to. You panicked. I’m just glad you’re okay.” The tension in Keith’s shoulders slumps away until he’s is leaning forward and dropping his forehead to Lance’s hand. “You really scared the hell out of me.” 

Lance lifts his free hand to Keith’s head, tangling his fingers into Keith’s hair. “I did try and rest,” he admits, voice light, and Keith laughs, lifting his head to meet Lance’s tired eyes. 

“Yeah, well, new plan. I’m staying home anytime you are remotely sick from now on.” 

A faint smile plays across Lance’s lips as he nods. 

“You know? I kinda like the sound of that.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the spanish is basically Lance's mom saying that she and the dad got in an accident and have a quick insurance questions 
> 
> also-- i knew i had a second chapter in this au lol

**Author's Note:**

> I had a prompt asking for high school teacher Keith and YouTuber Lance who are not so secretly married, and I rolled with it in sickfic fashion because that's how my blog goes. 
> 
> /shrugs. I kind of like this one. That's why it's going as a stand alone and not in my H/C Voltron series. (Which I encourage you guys to check out if you like whump or sickfics because there's over 70 chapters as of right now)


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